Does anyone know of a French alternative to the national cycle network we enjoy here in the UK? website link or info would be appreciated, but failing that just the name would suffice, thanks.

For Brittany

AF3V

English stuff

Chemins!

http://www.ffc.fr/a_VTT/a_SitesVTT/index.asp

Above is a link to the FFC web site (French Federation Cycling), more specifically this link takes you to the VTT (Mountain Bike Route page). You type in the region and it will tell you how many routes there are in the area and where to go about buying the local guide. This bit takes a bit more effort to search out but there are ususally regional VTT centres that will send you the map for a fee once you’ve found their web site. This is a typical route guide:

The National Cycle route is marked out everywhere on lamp posts and kerb stones etc with red, white and blue stripes indicating the direction. The route goes along roads through farm fields and along tracks. The VTT routes are marked out with an orange triangle and two orange circles and take in more challenging terrain but they are graded blue, red and black. It’s really difficult to go wrong.

If you are staying near Riberac in the NW Dordogne I have a guide to about 30 routes I can scan and e-mail.